Fathers – Family Council

The Amazing Ways Fathers Matter

Jun 18, 2025Jerry CoxFamilyFamily, Fatherhood, Fathers

Recently, John Stonestreet at the Colson Center recorded a commentary highlighting the importance of fathers.

Stonestreet says the research is clear: “In every possible area of child development — relationally, physically, socially, educationally, even spiritually — dads bring a unique set of contributions to the lives and wellbeing of their children.”

Social science has shown us that moms and dads both matter. Various studies have concluded children from intact families with a married mom and a dad tend to be more engaged at school, have higher cognitive scores, and show greater self-control.

In 2023, the CDC released a report showing teens who lived in a two-parent household with their biological or adoptive parents were less likely to engage in sexual activity than their peers.

And fathers in particular have a tremendous impact on their children’s spiritual formation.

Our modern culture rightly celebrates mothers. We all know mothers matter. But it’s important that we not overlook the importance of fathers as well.

You can listen to Stonestreet’s entire commentary below or read it online here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Dads on Duty

Security guards and local police were at a loss about how to deal with the rampant violence plaguing a Shreveport school. Detention and even arrests weren’t enough to curb fights on campus. So, a group of dads stepped up, and have committed to being present at the school every day. There hasn’t been a fight in over a month, and now kids say they love going to school.

They call themselves “Dads on Duty,” replete with sweatpants, gas station coffee, and dad jokes worthy of eye rolls. They fist bump students in hallways, providing a fathering gauntlet that is deterring fights and decreasing gang activity. “Not everybody has a father figure at home – or a male, period, in their life,” one of the dads told CBS News.

The crisis in Shreveport required more than good intentions. It required fathers. After all, God created dads for just this kind of thing. I love how these dads stepped up and stepped in. Their actions offer a real-life example of the difference it makes when we find ways to answer four simple questions: What good can we celebrate? What’s missing that we can offer? What’s broken that we can fix? What evil must we oppose?